MR. JOHN WALSH: FORMER PARAMEDIC AND CURRENT SCIENCE TEACHER AT WHS

By: Shawn Bertuccio and Frank Notaro

Wethersfield High School science teacher, John Walsh was once a former paramedic. Walsh teaches integrated science and is also an assistant track and field coach at WHS. He also taught science at Silas Deane Middle School. He has been a teacher for over 23 years.
Prior to becoming a teacher Walsh, was a paid paramedic in the Hartford area for about 6 years.
Walsh said, “I originally thought of becoming a fireman and thought becoming an EMT would give me an advantage on joining a department. I also thought of going to school and becoming a doctor or a physician assistant”. But when he got married, he decided to become a teacher. While he was getting certified as a teacher he continued to work part time as a Paramedic, but once he completed his teaching certification, he never went back into EMS.
Walsh shared this story about his most memorable call, “My most memorable call was when I saved a three year old boy from choking to death. I performed the heimlich maneuver on him and the piece of candy became dislodged and he started to breathe again which was very gratifying knowing I saved the life of such a young person and gave him a chance of eventually fulfilling his dreams in the future.”
Walsh said that his favorite part of being a paramedic was, “It was always something different from day to day and you never really know what to expect from one minute to the next”.

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